The library will be open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. until Dec. 13. On Dec. 14, the library will open at 7:30 a.m., and will close at 5 p.m. It will be closed Dec. 15 and Dec. 16. The Lic will be open Dec. 17-21 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be closed Dec. 22 through Jan. 1 and will reopen Jan. 2 at 8 a.m.

Save the dates: Summer abroad interest sessions

Interested in studying abroad in France, South Africa or Costa Rica? Check out the website and save the following dates for interest sessions hosted by the Office of Student Affairs. France – Monday, Jan.14, 1-2 p.m., HOL 360; South Africa – Tuesday, Jan. 15, 12-1 p.m., HOL 270; and Costa Rica – Tuesday, Jan. 22, 12-1 p.m., HOL 382.

3L publishes scholarly book chapters

Caroline Joan S. Picart (3L, joint J.D. and M.A. in Women’s Studies) has three refereed scholarly book chapters and one refereed scholarly article forthcoming in 2013.  The book chapters are:  “Media Myths Regarding Serial Killers: A Gothic Criminology” in The Poetics of Crime – Excursions into Creative Criminologies, Michael Hviid Jacobsen, ed. (Ashgate, forthcoming 2013); “Is Life Beautiful?: Humor, Horror, Fantasy, and History” in The Fantastic in Holocaust Literature, Judith Kerman and John Edgar Browning, eds., (McFarland, expected Spring 2013); and “The Documentary Impulse and Reel/Real Horror” in A Companion to the Horror Film, Harry Benshoff, ed. (Wiley-Blackwell, forthcoming, 2013). The article is forthcoming in a journal of Communication: “Reflections on Power and Intersectionality,” Qualitative Inquiry, forthcoming, Spring, 2013 (Edited by Lonnie Athens).

LIC Notes: CLEs in the LIC

It is a little known fact that the Legal Information Center has Continuing Legal Education materials in its collection. While it receives all of The Florida Bar CLE course books, it also acquires a few CDs and DVDs that attorneys can use to obtain CLE credit.  Each year, The Florida Bar sends all public Florida law libraries a free copy of the Survey of Florida Law CLE for distribution to patrons and Florida Bar members. In addition, the LIC collects CLEs that are of interest to UF Law faculty and students, such as its recent acquisition, the Practice Management Track of the 6^th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference – The Extraordinary Lawyer: Minding Your Own Business. This CLE focuses on building a law practice, which many students and alumni may find of interest in the current economy.  If you would like to see our current CLE holdings, the list is available at: http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/CLEs. As always, the LIC welcomes your suggestions for additional titles that would enhance the collection.

Stay tuned for Dean Jerry’s Music Night 2013

Watch FlaLaw in January for the announcement of the spring scheduling of Dean Jerry’s “Music Night 2013” at his house. The rules are that any student who participates must bring a dessert and perform a musical piece.  Faculty who participate must comply with a substantially identical rule, which often results in the appearance of a kazoo band. When it’s announced, sign-up will be first-come, first-served. If you’re interested, you might want to do a little practicing over break. (But the dean says: Don’t over-prepare; this is informal and meant to be fun – i.e., it’s definitely “recital-lite.”)

Moot court team elects new exec board; Dylan Shea receives award

The UF Moot Court Team has elected new members to the executive board this spring:

Internal Vice President: Ian Dankelman; Executive Vice President: Chelsey Clements; Vice Chair for Intermural Competition: Victoria Forson; Secretary: Jessica Clements; Chairs for Intramural Competition: Megan Coughlin and Stephanie Generotti; Special Events Chair: Heather Griffin; Special Events Co-Chair: Kate Livanec; Chair for Education and Training: Nate Diehl; and Vice Chair for Historical Society: Alfredo Ferrer.

The team voted Dylan Shea to receive the Gaither Award for the most outstanding team member.

UF Law students Gretchen Lehman and John Rains defeated Georgia Law students Chad Armstrong and Shalanna Pirtle. Lehman and Rains were coached by fellow moot court team members, Mike Hargett and Scott Bowman.

“I feel wonderful,” Lehman said afterward. “We were up against a very formidable opponent. Georgia was excellent, and we’re very proud of what we did.”

Five senior U.S. district judges from Florida and Georgia presided over the competition, including Judge Anthony A. Alaimo (presiding) of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia; Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida; Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida; Judge B. Avant Edenfield of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia; and Judge John H. Moore of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Their decision was unanimous.

“It was a very tough, lively bench,” Lehman said. “They seemed very well informed and very interested in public policy issues, and there were many of them in this case.”

Moot Court’s recent victories in the competition coupled with the UF’s football team’s recent wins over Georgia have broken an odd correlation between the two events. Prior to this year, in the 22 moot court competitions held since 1982 that did not end in a tie, the school that took home the title in the courtroom subsequently lost that Saturday on the football field 17 times.

“I think we started a new tradition,” Lehman said.

UF Moot Court Team members at the Oct. 21 regional competition

The Levin College of Law’s Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Team turned in an impressive performance Oct. 21 at the regional competition for The Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition held at American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C.

Team members Beau Baker, Brad Barrios, Gina Civin, Vanessa Grant, Elizabeth Paulk, and Veronica Tafur, went head to head with moot court teams throughout the southeast at the competition. UF Moot Court members argued a case involving the REAL ID Act of 2005 and the Convention Against Torture. Grant and Tafur, coached by Paul Sodhi and Chris Dix, were named the overall winner of the competition. Barrios and Civin, coached by Nava Ben-Avraham and Natalia Medina, received second place overall and Best Brief. Baker and Paulk, coached by Kimberly Chamberlin and Alissa Lugo, received sixth place overall.

Barrios, Civin, Grant, and Tafur will represent the UF Moot Court Team and the Southeast Region at The Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition, which takes place Nov. 9-12 in conjunction with the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual Convention in Philadelphia.

The UF Moot Court would like to thank Professors Joseph Little, Michael Siebecker, Leanne Pflaum, Mary Adkins, David Hudson, Pedro Malavet, Juan Perea, Patricia Thomson, and Henry Wihnyk, who volunteered their time to ensure the success at the competition.

The Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition honors the late Judge Thomas Tang, a
champion of individual rights, an advocate for the advancement of minority attorneys, and an ardent supporter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Teams from throughout the country participate in the competition, with winners and runners-up from the six regional competitions meeting in the finals.

UF Law students Josh Spoont and Elizabeth Faist took home best team honors at the Moot Court Team’s biannual Final Four on Friday, Oct. 6. Spoont was also named best oralist in the competition, and took the prize for best brief. Jesse McIntyre was named best overall competitor.

The competitors presented oral arguments in front of justices from the Florida Supreme Court, including Justices Harry Lee Anstead, Charles T. Wells, Barbara J. Pariente, and Peggy A. Quince, as well as retired Chief Justice Ben F. Overton, an adjunct UF law professor.

The Fall Final Four is sponsored by the Orlando law firm of Zimmerman, Kiser & Sutcliffe, and is the culmination of a five-week try-out competition, which requires interested students to write an appellate brief and then present two oral arguments before a panel of judges.

The Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Team competes each year at over a dozen tournaments throughout the country. The team was founded in 1961, and was named after the prominent Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice. The team’s mission is to promote excellence in appellate advocacy.